As I sit here with tears in my eyes, I have decided that good-byes are so hard! I feel like my life is full of good-byes! We are officially done with ministry! I have gotten a little sicker so we have decided to go to a big city earlier to be closer to the doctors. God finished strong! Throughout the whole summer we have had 117 salvations and done over 150 house Bible studies! However, numbers are not the important thing! The important thing is the glory that God has received from this summer! Saying good-bye has been so bittersweet! Oh how I long for a few more months of ministry to these beautiful people here! I will write another wrap up blog when I have a little more energy. For now, let me give you a few highlights from this past week!
One day we were walking down the road and we saw 2 very familiar faces. It was Divennia and Igene from our last burungie! They had walked for 2 hours just to see us! They spent the afternoon with us doing house Bible studies. They spoke of how those 2 women get together daily to study scripture together! That was such a huge encouragement to us to see that our prayers have been answered! We prayed that when we departed from Kimba that the people would continue to dig into the word!
Also, one of my teammates and I were able to sit down with the burungie caption and talk for an hour or so. He spoke of how after this term he wanted to become a pastor! That would be like one of our governors telling us they wanted to be a pastor. He has been so thoughtful towards us. Nightly, he would gather the whole burungie together for our Bible studies. We have had up to 60 people at some of them! He truly is a leader here in the Philippines who is seeking the guidance of our Lord! I praise God for him!
There are so many other stories to share but they will have to wait! Thank you so much for all your prayers! Continue to pray for our team as we travel and as we go through debrief! God moved in such huge ways this summer! Praise God! I will be sharing about what God has done on Sunday, August 5th at FBC Fairview at 6pm. It would be such a blessing if you could come! My cousin, Ace, just accepted Christ this past week and he will be baptized that night as well!
Acts 20:24
I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the gospel of God’s grace.
Monday, July 20, 2009
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
WOW!!!
So we arrived at our new burungie this week. We have spent one week ministering and, Praise God, we have had over 50 salvations! It has been a very tiring week but God is getting lots of glory! This burungie is so different from our last. First of all, it has a lot more hills! Lets just put it this way….the pastor we work with came and visited us yesterday and he said, “Megan, you are diminishing.” Hahaha Also, it is a poorer burungie, therefore, less people speak English and it is harder to communicate. Also, we are staying in the burungie captions’ house and there are always a ton of people and noise. Sleep does not come very often for me because of the noise and God has really been dealing with me about my future. One night in particular, I felt like Samuel. Please pray that I can hear God’s voice clearly and not let my desires get in the way of His desires for my life!
Here are a few of the absolutely amazing things God has done this week. We are able to go into each classroom at the schools and we have experienced 16 salvations from the older kids. Also, we are having an adult Bible study every night at the basketball courts. Our very first night we had 15 salvations. One thing that we have experienced in this burungie is people being absolutely broken by the Word of God. After sharing with people about the hope they have in God, many of them have broken down. The Spirit is piercing hearts in a huge way! Just yesterday I was able to sit on the porch with 4 women and share how they can have assurance of their salvation. They all admitted that they do not have personal relationships with the Lord and God used me to share with them how they can. After the Bible study, we just sat on the porch and talked and laughed…..the translator had to help a lot! I felt like we were all close friends and just enjoying the day! When I left they said, “We may not see you in America but we will see you again in Heaven someday!” Wow! If that does not put a desire in your heart to see ALL nations come to know Christ, I do not know what will!! God is so good all the time!
We only have one more week of ministry and then the rest of the time will be travel and debrief. I will arrive back in Birmingham on July 30th! Pray that God will give us strength to give Him our 110% this last week! Pray for even more souls to come to know Him! Pray for my whole team, some of them are missing home a lot right now! Pray for God’s will! I am forever grateful for all your prayers and love! Thank you so much and God Bless!
**The people from Kimba, our last burungie, really love us! Four of the boys have came and visited us this week!
Here are a few of the absolutely amazing things God has done this week. We are able to go into each classroom at the schools and we have experienced 16 salvations from the older kids. Also, we are having an adult Bible study every night at the basketball courts. Our very first night we had 15 salvations. One thing that we have experienced in this burungie is people being absolutely broken by the Word of God. After sharing with people about the hope they have in God, many of them have broken down. The Spirit is piercing hearts in a huge way! Just yesterday I was able to sit on the porch with 4 women and share how they can have assurance of their salvation. They all admitted that they do not have personal relationships with the Lord and God used me to share with them how they can. After the Bible study, we just sat on the porch and talked and laughed…..the translator had to help a lot! I felt like we were all close friends and just enjoying the day! When I left they said, “We may not see you in America but we will see you again in Heaven someday!” Wow! If that does not put a desire in your heart to see ALL nations come to know Christ, I do not know what will!! God is so good all the time!
We only have one more week of ministry and then the rest of the time will be travel and debrief. I will arrive back in Birmingham on July 30th! Pray that God will give us strength to give Him our 110% this last week! Pray for even more souls to come to know Him! Pray for my whole team, some of them are missing home a lot right now! Pray for God’s will! I am forever grateful for all your prayers and love! Thank you so much and God Bless!
**The people from Kimba, our last burungie, really love us! Four of the boys have came and visited us this week!
Monday, July 6, 2009
Finishing Strong!
God finished strong in our Burungie. Monday is our off days so ministry started on Tuesday of this week. One of the ladies we have been ministering to wanted us to hike with her to an unreached part of the Burungie. So Tuesday morning we set out with our backpacks packed and ready to stay for the whole day, considering it was a long hike to that part of the Burungie. We arrived and her family had prepared a snack for us. Then we decided to go door to door evangelizing. Turns out we found this huge group of people. It ended up being the whole Burungie in one spot. Thank you Jesus! We asked to do a Bible study and they greatly accepted. Before my team member got up to lead the Bible study she looked at me and said, “I might need help with the salvation part of the message. I do not really know how to do it with a big group.” I gave her an eyebrow raise, which means yes in the Philippines. I immediately began praying. I always feel so inadequate when it comes to presenting the salvation message. Also, I began to tell God that I knew He was teaching me things this summer but I could not put my hand on what is was. When it came time to lead into asking questions to the people I jumped to the front of the crowd. In fact, I don’t even remember getting up. I began to go through the Romans Road and other scripture with them. Honestly, I am not really sure what all I said! God took over my whole body! When it came time for decisions, there were 12 people who accepted Christ as their personal Lord and Savior! We have not seen this mass amount of people come to know Him at one time yet! It was such and encouragement to our weary bodies! Immediately after we left the place, God began to put together all He was teaching me, so far. These lessons are way too much to write but I will def share when I get back! It was such an amazing day that I will never forget!
Side note and funny fact: If you remember I broke my foot in Nov. well I feel down the mountain when we were hiking because of the rain. THEN one of my team members broke on of my toes (on the opposite foot). Hahaha It always happens to me!
Leaving Kimba, I can now say the name of the Burungie, was extremely hard for me! I know this probably does not surprise you but…I cried! I have made so many friends there and have seen God move in such a real way! He drastically moved among the people and in my heart as well! I had both cried and laughed a lot there! Upon our departure from Kimba, we were showered with thank yous and tears! God moved and I am so blessed to have been a part!
Seeing as though we are over half way done with our summer mission here in the Philippines, I can say that I am mentally, physically, spiritually, and emotionally exhausted! We just spent a few days at a resort as time to rest and be ready for part 2 of the summer! It was so peaceful and much needed! I have to admit….I got a pedicure. On the bright side, it was the equivalent of 6 American dollars! We had time to talk to our team and just allow God to feel us back up. Currently I am on an island outside of Siqijor because I came here today to get checked out by a doctor because I have not been feeling too swell! No worries, I am fine just a few minor things going on and I have gotten some prescriptions and I am heading back on the island with my team tomorrow! I am so excited about what God is going to do in our new Burungie!
Pray for the unity of our team….it is getting harder as the summer goes on! Pray that God will prepare the hearts of the people in the new Burunige! Pray for our health and strength! Pray for a house church in this new Burungie! Pray for God to move in ways I have never experienced! Pray for my family at home! Pray for God’s will to be done and for Him alone to receive all the glory!
Side note and funny fact: If you remember I broke my foot in Nov. well I feel down the mountain when we were hiking because of the rain. THEN one of my team members broke on of my toes (on the opposite foot). Hahaha It always happens to me!
Leaving Kimba, I can now say the name of the Burungie, was extremely hard for me! I know this probably does not surprise you but…I cried! I have made so many friends there and have seen God move in such a real way! He drastically moved among the people and in my heart as well! I had both cried and laughed a lot there! Upon our departure from Kimba, we were showered with thank yous and tears! God moved and I am so blessed to have been a part!
Seeing as though we are over half way done with our summer mission here in the Philippines, I can say that I am mentally, physically, spiritually, and emotionally exhausted! We just spent a few days at a resort as time to rest and be ready for part 2 of the summer! It was so peaceful and much needed! I have to admit….I got a pedicure. On the bright side, it was the equivalent of 6 American dollars! We had time to talk to our team and just allow God to feel us back up. Currently I am on an island outside of Siqijor because I came here today to get checked out by a doctor because I have not been feeling too swell! No worries, I am fine just a few minor things going on and I have gotten some prescriptions and I am heading back on the island with my team tomorrow! I am so excited about what God is going to do in our new Burungie!
Pray for the unity of our team….it is getting harder as the summer goes on! Pray that God will prepare the hearts of the people in the new Burunige! Pray for our health and strength! Pray for a house church in this new Burungie! Pray for God to move in ways I have never experienced! Pray for my family at home! Pray for God’s will to be done and for Him alone to receive all the glory!
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Love Letters, House Churches, and A Lot More!
“When I look into your beautiful blue eyes my heart melts.” Those words can be found in the love letter I receive from an 18 yr old boy in our village. He wrote me a very interesting love letter. Also, there is this other boy who climbed a coconut tree and brought me 6 coconuts and flowers! I may just stay here because I can get lots of boys here but not so many in America J Everyone said I would meet my husband in the Philippines…who knows lol! Don’t worry I have found a boy for Sam too! He is this tiny 13 yr old who speaks English and is very intelligent. I showed him a picture of her and he thinks she is very qwapa (beautiful) and wants to keep the picture. I know she will love me for it JWe had many other funny things happen to us this week but I will save those for when I get home!
I feel like God has showed us some of the fruits of our labor this week! It has been such an encouraging week! We have seen so much feedback from the people we go to their house daily. They have really wanted to be in the Word and have been asking questions. Also, they have opened up almost to tears about their prayer requests. Of the people we visit daily, we have seen a woman recover almost fully from a stroke and a marriage put back together! We found another part of the burungie that we had not been to. We nicknamed it the suicide hill because when you hike to this part of the burungie it is killing your body! Lets just say if you do not lean forward when walking up the hill you will probably fall backwards! We have been there a few times! God has saved 5 more souls this week! Just like cried out in Matthew 14, they have called out “Lord, save me!” It has been so awesome to not just lead them to Christ but to be able to disciple them as well. Sunday we had our second house church service and we had 20 people in our little burungie hall. One of our believers in the village brought the Word. It was so amazing to see these people gather together and have corporate worship when they may have never experienced it before!
We only have one more week in this burungie. We leave Sat for a few days of vacation and regroup and refocus time. Honestly, I am very sad! I have made so many friends here and God has really revealed amazing things to me while staying there. I know and trust that God has a plan for us to move on!
It ends up that I have some kind of intestinal bacteria and I got some medicine. It is slowly making me feel better! Thank you for the prayers! Keep praying! Pray that God will do BIG things this last week in this burungie. Pray that the people who have entered in to a relationship with Christ these past few weeks will stay in the Word with us gone. Pray for wherever we are to go next. Pray for strength and energy for the team! Pray for God’s will!
I feel like God has showed us some of the fruits of our labor this week! It has been such an encouraging week! We have seen so much feedback from the people we go to their house daily. They have really wanted to be in the Word and have been asking questions. Also, they have opened up almost to tears about their prayer requests. Of the people we visit daily, we have seen a woman recover almost fully from a stroke and a marriage put back together! We found another part of the burungie that we had not been to. We nicknamed it the suicide hill because when you hike to this part of the burungie it is killing your body! Lets just say if you do not lean forward when walking up the hill you will probably fall backwards! We have been there a few times! God has saved 5 more souls this week! Just like cried out in Matthew 14, they have called out “Lord, save me!” It has been so awesome to not just lead them to Christ but to be able to disciple them as well. Sunday we had our second house church service and we had 20 people in our little burungie hall. One of our believers in the village brought the Word. It was so amazing to see these people gather together and have corporate worship when they may have never experienced it before!
We only have one more week in this burungie. We leave Sat for a few days of vacation and regroup and refocus time. Honestly, I am very sad! I have made so many friends here and God has really revealed amazing things to me while staying there. I know and trust that God has a plan for us to move on!
It ends up that I have some kind of intestinal bacteria and I got some medicine. It is slowly making me feel better! Thank you for the prayers! Keep praying! Pray that God will do BIG things this last week in this burungie. Pray that the people who have entered in to a relationship with Christ these past few weeks will stay in the Word with us gone. Pray for wherever we are to go next. Pray for strength and energy for the team! Pray for God’s will!
Sunday, June 21, 2009
What an Interesting Week!
This week has been the most interesting week of my life. Spiritual things first and then I have lots of funny stories for this week. Ministry is going good. We have experienced some demonic activity this week. I will fill you in when I get home. Also, we have had 3 more people saved. Praise God! We have done numerous Bible studies…I can’t even count how many. We have found a potential person to help start a house church. Her name is Divenna. She is very knowledgeable about the scriptures. She even helped a missionary from England translate Psalm to Rev. in her native tribal language. We have been able to encourage her and she has actually led a Bible study for us and some people in the village. She said she needs a companion to help her lead when we leave, so pray for that! The people are very open to us coming in their house but not very open to committing to going to a Bible study at someone else’s house. Pray that we can start a community Bible study soon. We only have 2 weeks left in this burungie. Also this week, we have started a teen Bible study every night. WE do it our Burungie hall. WE have had around 11 teenagers each time. They want a relationship with God but they still have a lot of questions to be answered before they make that commitment. Pray for wisdom and understanding for them. I am really excited about ministering to them!
Now onto funny stories…..so I have this boy in the village who is in love with me, Ray. He can not speak English so he always makes all the little kids tell me I am beautiful and that he likes me for him. Whenever it is my turn to cook, he always starts my fire for me J Also, we were invited to the local witch doctors golden anniversary party. What an experience. There were probably 300 people there. Of course, they all stared at us all the time. We got escorted to the inner room, with all the important people. At this point, we had gotten separated from our translators. Therefore, we had not clue what they were saying to us. They proceeded to unwrap a WHOLE pig. I am talking skin and all. So we, along with their help, filled our plates with pork, rice, ect. And just smiled and swallowed. Then they put chairs for us right in front of a stage where the band was playing. I sat by some government official who kept telling me he was single. What do you say to that….good for you?! Everyone wanted us to dance but of course we couldn’t we are southern Baptist missionaries J There were so many other funny things that happened this week. I can’t wait to get home and share them with you.
God is moving and I am so excited! I can see Him everywhere! We have 2 more weeks in this burungie. Keep praying for salvation and a house church. Pray for me, I have been pretty sick. Pray for our team! Pray for my family! Thank you so much! I love you all!
Now onto funny stories…..so I have this boy in the village who is in love with me, Ray. He can not speak English so he always makes all the little kids tell me I am beautiful and that he likes me for him. Whenever it is my turn to cook, he always starts my fire for me J Also, we were invited to the local witch doctors golden anniversary party. What an experience. There were probably 300 people there. Of course, they all stared at us all the time. We got escorted to the inner room, with all the important people. At this point, we had gotten separated from our translators. Therefore, we had not clue what they were saying to us. They proceeded to unwrap a WHOLE pig. I am talking skin and all. So we, along with their help, filled our plates with pork, rice, ect. And just smiled and swallowed. Then they put chairs for us right in front of a stage where the band was playing. I sat by some government official who kept telling me he was single. What do you say to that….good for you?! Everyone wanted us to dance but of course we couldn’t we are southern Baptist missionaries J There were so many other funny things that happened this week. I can’t wait to get home and share them with you.
God is moving and I am so excited! I can see Him everywhere! We have 2 more weeks in this burungie. Keep praying for salvation and a house church. Pray for me, I have been pretty sick. Pray for our team! Pray for my family! Thank you so much! I love you all!
Saturday, June 13, 2009
He IS Moving
What do a chicken, a dog, a cat, and kids have in common?...I know this is a hard one. Theses are all things that will run through the house while you are leading a Bible study in the Philippines. In addition to those things, I have also experienced being peed on by a baby and a mother nursing her child while I am holding a Bible right in front of them. Hahaha oh the life of a missionary.
This was our first week in this burungie. It has been nothing short of AMAZING! The total number of salvations is 11 and we have had over 20 house Bible studies. I will share a few of so many stories and thoughts with you. First let me tell you about the burungie and the culture here. The people are all so very nice. They will invite you inside in a heart beat. Our first day there we decided to do laundry since we had not done it yet. All 4 of us americans grab our buckets and begin the task of washing our cloths. It was actually kind of fun. We sat outside the burungie and sang and washed cloths...for 2 hours!! It took a long time. At one point we had about 20 Philippinos around us watching us and laughing. Apparently we were not very good at washing our cloths. The children love us. In fact they look in our windows at all times..when we are sleeping, eating, or whatever. I have received many little gifts from them. Also, we have started a vbs every day at 5pm for children 11 and under and for older kids at 6pm, 12 and up. There is not a place to but meat in the burungie so we have been eating rice and noodles a lot. The burngie caption has a nice set up for us. We stay in what is called a burungie hall. It is a small room that is some what closed in. We have a tent inside there to keep mosquitoes out. Also, they have been so nice to bring us 3 electric fans and a water cooler. We bath out of buckets or...I just act like the water hose is a shower lol. I am actually enjoying it.
On to our ministry stories, God has really shown up this week. One day we shared with an older man named Poper. He ended up accepting Chirst. When we were about to leave he informed us that he has never heard the Word of God before. No one had every hiked up to his house to tell him. Let me just tell you it was the most intense hike of my life but it was well worth it for one soul! In fact, we hike there daily to help disciple him. Another day, we decided to go through this rice field to see if there were any houses. We ended up hiking about 3 miles to a village with 4 or so houses. The people ended up all being family. The grandma was still alive and she was 100 + years old. We were able to share with them as well. As i was making that first hike to their house with sweat pouring and my legs burning, i thought. "It is worth it. Even if only one person can hear about Christ." One of the goals of Nehemiah Teams is to reach the unreached and hard to reach. That we are doing my friend. God is giving me a huge burden for these people. One more story, one day we were doing Bible study with this 59 year old woman. I shared with her the story of Jesus walking on water. I explained that all of us sink in sin at some point but all we have to do is call out to the Lord to save us and he will. She began to cry and told us of how she is the only born again Christian that lives around her. She shared her struggle of wanting them to know the good news but it being hard for her to stand up. We prayed with her and have been coming back to encourage her daily. My heart was broken after that first visit with her. I take having a group of Chiristians around my for granted. We want to start a community Bible study in her house. We will see where God will lead.
One more thing, we worshiped today with a local pastor and last night I was goofing off and doing the sprinkler dance, etc. Well...this morning he made me get up in front of the church and do it for the whole congregation! It was an interesting experience lol.
Anyways, continue to pray! Pray for unity. Pray for more open doors. Pray for our vbs. Pray that we will be able to start a big house Bible study. Pray that we will be able to show a film to the whole burungie. Pray for slavation of these people. Pray for encouragement for the current believers in the burungie. Pray for strength, we are tired already. Pray for patience. Pray for God's will! I love you all!
Go and tell of what God is doing in your life!!
This was our first week in this burungie. It has been nothing short of AMAZING! The total number of salvations is 11 and we have had over 20 house Bible studies. I will share a few of so many stories and thoughts with you. First let me tell you about the burungie and the culture here. The people are all so very nice. They will invite you inside in a heart beat. Our first day there we decided to do laundry since we had not done it yet. All 4 of us americans grab our buckets and begin the task of washing our cloths. It was actually kind of fun. We sat outside the burungie and sang and washed cloths...for 2 hours!! It took a long time. At one point we had about 20 Philippinos around us watching us and laughing. Apparently we were not very good at washing our cloths. The children love us. In fact they look in our windows at all times..when we are sleeping, eating, or whatever. I have received many little gifts from them. Also, we have started a vbs every day at 5pm for children 11 and under and for older kids at 6pm, 12 and up. There is not a place to but meat in the burungie so we have been eating rice and noodles a lot. The burngie caption has a nice set up for us. We stay in what is called a burungie hall. It is a small room that is some what closed in. We have a tent inside there to keep mosquitoes out. Also, they have been so nice to bring us 3 electric fans and a water cooler. We bath out of buckets or...I just act like the water hose is a shower lol. I am actually enjoying it.
On to our ministry stories, God has really shown up this week. One day we shared with an older man named Poper. He ended up accepting Chirst. When we were about to leave he informed us that he has never heard the Word of God before. No one had every hiked up to his house to tell him. Let me just tell you it was the most intense hike of my life but it was well worth it for one soul! In fact, we hike there daily to help disciple him. Another day, we decided to go through this rice field to see if there were any houses. We ended up hiking about 3 miles to a village with 4 or so houses. The people ended up all being family. The grandma was still alive and she was 100 + years old. We were able to share with them as well. As i was making that first hike to their house with sweat pouring and my legs burning, i thought. "It is worth it. Even if only one person can hear about Christ." One of the goals of Nehemiah Teams is to reach the unreached and hard to reach. That we are doing my friend. God is giving me a huge burden for these people. One more story, one day we were doing Bible study with this 59 year old woman. I shared with her the story of Jesus walking on water. I explained that all of us sink in sin at some point but all we have to do is call out to the Lord to save us and he will. She began to cry and told us of how she is the only born again Christian that lives around her. She shared her struggle of wanting them to know the good news but it being hard for her to stand up. We prayed with her and have been coming back to encourage her daily. My heart was broken after that first visit with her. I take having a group of Chiristians around my for granted. We want to start a community Bible study in her house. We will see where God will lead.
One more thing, we worshiped today with a local pastor and last night I was goofing off and doing the sprinkler dance, etc. Well...this morning he made me get up in front of the church and do it for the whole congregation! It was an interesting experience lol.
Anyways, continue to pray! Pray for unity. Pray for more open doors. Pray for our vbs. Pray that we will be able to start a big house Bible study. Pray that we will be able to show a film to the whole burungie. Pray for slavation of these people. Pray for encouragement for the current believers in the burungie. Pray for strength, we are tired already. Pray for patience. Pray for God's will! I love you all!
Go and tell of what God is doing in your life!!
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Our God is an Amazing God
I just so happen to have internet tonight but I won't have it again untill Sunday night, your time. Really quickly, we have had such a blessed day! We arrived on Siquijor today and we were told to find this certain pastor and see if he had the supplies they had shipped ahead. After that, we were told we were to find a certain burungie and ask if we could stay there for 3 weeks.
This is how it turned out....we got to the church and found the pastor. He took us in right away. They took us to the market and helped us get food for the week. Tonight they took us to the burungie and asked the caption if we could stay there. He greatly accepted. We will be staying in a burungie hall, no clue what that is. He asked if we were going to start Bible studies and we felt like shouting "Absolutly!" He told us the place is very very safe and that he is actually the head burungie caption out of about 15 of them. The people were so sweet and welcoming. We were told to be back tomorrow around noon to settle. I am amazed at how we arrived this morning with no plans and now we are going to a village tomorrow to settle for 3 weeks. Keep praying! I really appreciate it! God is moving! Talk to you Sunday :)
This is how it turned out....we got to the church and found the pastor. He took us in right away. They took us to the market and helped us get food for the week. Tonight they took us to the burungie and asked the caption if we could stay there. He greatly accepted. We will be staying in a burungie hall, no clue what that is. He asked if we were going to start Bible studies and we felt like shouting "Absolutly!" He told us the place is very very safe and that he is actually the head burungie caption out of about 15 of them. The people were so sweet and welcoming. We were told to be back tomorrow around noon to settle. I am amazed at how we arrived this morning with no plans and now we are going to a village tomorrow to settle for 3 weeks. Keep praying! I really appreciate it! God is moving! Talk to you Sunday :)
Monday, June 8, 2009
Stepping into Battle
Hello all! So, we just finished orientation. It was so helpful. We did lots of team building activites, learned how to plant a house church, learned some of the language which is Sabowna...I just made up the spelling :) I have met so many awesome people and have daily been encouraged to be around people my age who share the same passion for the gospel to reach "all nations." I have to be some what vague in my blogs in order to adhere to safety percautions. Also, I don't have Now-Now or Word to proof all my blogs so the spelling and punctuation are awful!
Anyways, we did lots of fun things and learned many things that were hard to hear. You might need to sit down for this....I survived my first monsoon :) It is actually a funny story, it rained for 24 hours solid. The rain was very heavy and the winds were crazy. However, we heard that it was rainy season in the Philippines...we just thought it was normal and no one told us it was a monsoon because they didn't want us to freak out. Today, two days later, I found out that I survived my first monsoon and I was pretty excited :)
Now on to more serious things, we are currently in a city waiting to catch a boat to the island where I will be all summer, Siquijor. We met our translators today and they are two really sweet Philippinas. They have both participated in Philippino Nehemiah Teams before so they are professionals! Pray a special blessing on them because they took a semester off school just to be with us this summer. Anyway, it is 7:40pm on Monday here which is 6:40am on Monday your time. Also, please pray for our team. The pastor we needed to work with is not really cooperating. Tomorrow we are going to go into a villiage and talk to the Burungia caption, the eqivialant of a mayor, about serving in his village for a while. Most likely, we will be sleeping in a tent. By now, I would be grateful to get to do laundry... even in a bucket. My cloths are gross :) Our days will consist of waking up at 5am, I know dad you are so proud, bathing, quiet times, team devo, meals, and ministry time. The basic jist of what we will do is witnessing to people in the village and trying to begin Bible studies with the people. Our ultimate prayer is for salvation and that we can establish house churches in the villages we work with. So I ask that you pray for that as well. We will stay in each village for 2-3 weeks. I am really excited about being able to stay with the people for a while and disciple them. The amazing part is that most people in the Philippines are very open to the Bible and God. They have just never had anyone to teach them how to study the Word, about a direct prayer life, or about a personal relationship with the Lord. They are mainly Roman Catholic.
Lately, God has been teaching me about spiritual warefare and the realness of it. I ask that you pray for our team as we go are serivng God on this spiritual battle field. Pray that we will not get very sick adjusting to the culture. Pray that God will speak through us at ALL times! Pray for the salvation of all nations! Pray for our other teams! Pray for house churches! Continue, to pray for my family! I have been a little sick so pray for my health! Pray that we can memorize our scripture verses (we are given passages to memorize throughout the week and if we don't then we can't eat) Most of all, pray for God's will! Thank you so much! I love you all! I will send you an update in a week! Have a blessed week!
Are you prepared for battle?
Anyways, we did lots of fun things and learned many things that were hard to hear. You might need to sit down for this....I survived my first monsoon :) It is actually a funny story, it rained for 24 hours solid. The rain was very heavy and the winds were crazy. However, we heard that it was rainy season in the Philippines...we just thought it was normal and no one told us it was a monsoon because they didn't want us to freak out. Today, two days later, I found out that I survived my first monsoon and I was pretty excited :)
Now on to more serious things, we are currently in a city waiting to catch a boat to the island where I will be all summer, Siquijor. We met our translators today and they are two really sweet Philippinas. They have both participated in Philippino Nehemiah Teams before so they are professionals! Pray a special blessing on them because they took a semester off school just to be with us this summer. Anyway, it is 7:40pm on Monday here which is 6:40am on Monday your time. Also, please pray for our team. The pastor we needed to work with is not really cooperating. Tomorrow we are going to go into a villiage and talk to the Burungia caption, the eqivialant of a mayor, about serving in his village for a while. Most likely, we will be sleeping in a tent. By now, I would be grateful to get to do laundry... even in a bucket. My cloths are gross :) Our days will consist of waking up at 5am, I know dad you are so proud, bathing, quiet times, team devo, meals, and ministry time. The basic jist of what we will do is witnessing to people in the village and trying to begin Bible studies with the people. Our ultimate prayer is for salvation and that we can establish house churches in the villages we work with. So I ask that you pray for that as well. We will stay in each village for 2-3 weeks. I am really excited about being able to stay with the people for a while and disciple them. The amazing part is that most people in the Philippines are very open to the Bible and God. They have just never had anyone to teach them how to study the Word, about a direct prayer life, or about a personal relationship with the Lord. They are mainly Roman Catholic.
Lately, God has been teaching me about spiritual warefare and the realness of it. I ask that you pray for our team as we go are serivng God on this spiritual battle field. Pray that we will not get very sick adjusting to the culture. Pray that God will speak through us at ALL times! Pray for the salvation of all nations! Pray for our other teams! Pray for house churches! Continue, to pray for my family! I have been a little sick so pray for my health! Pray that we can memorize our scripture verses (we are given passages to memorize throughout the week and if we don't then we can't eat) Most of all, pray for God's will! Thank you so much! I love you all! I will send you an update in a week! Have a blessed week!
Are you prepared for battle?
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
I have always said I wanted to go to China...
Just a quick update because I have free internet acess in Hong Kong. I am here safely and I fly out to Manilla at 9:10am (our time). It is 7:10am here now if that helps any! I had good conversation with an asain man named Steven on the 14 hour flight. Pray for Steven and pray for us as we continue on to Manilla. I am safe and loving it! I have met so many great people! Love yall! Be blessed today!
Monday, June 1, 2009
I'm Leaving on a Jet Plane....tomorrow!!!!!
I have to start off by thanking all of you who have prayed for this trip and who will continue to pray. That is key to His Word being manifested in the hearts of these people! Also, I am blessed to say that all my funds have been raised for the trip!! Thank you for your help with that as well! I knew when God told me to go on this mission trip that He would provide and He did! He is always faithful!
I am sitting here in the comfort of my air conditioned home on my comfy couch with the TV playing in front of me (enjoying it while I can). To be honest, it really has not hit me yet that I am going to be out of the States for 2 months. Packing has been a little bit of an ordeal considering that I have to pack in a backpacking pack for 60 days! For those of you who know me and my packing tendencies….I go overboard. However, I am forced to just pack in this backpack and a smaller carry on, considering I will be hiking with all this stuff. I am choosing only the necessities.
Currently, I am filled with emotions. I am anxious to finally get there and really excited. I have been preparing and talking about this trip for at least 6 months and it is hard to believe that it is happening tomorrow! My only fear is that I will have trouble hiking with all my stuff (small compared to what your fears are for me huh J…or at least my parents anyway). I am actually meeting up with one of my team members in Dallas and we have all the same flights. Therefore, I am not the nervous about the flights anymore. My flight leaves at 10:50am in Birmingham. I fly from Birmingham to Dallas, Dallas to LA, LA to Hong Kong, and Hong Kong to Manila (the capitol of the Philippines). The Philippines is approx. 1 day ahead of us, therefore I will arrive to Manila on June 4, 2009.
I will be in Manila for a few days of orientation and training. Then, my team and I will fly to an island and then boat to the Siquijor Island, which is where my team will be stationed all summer. Then we will begin ministering to the people of this island. This island is known to be controlled by Satan through witchcraft. We will be God’s tools in setting people free through the power of the Gospel. We will be witnessing through drama, sports, and one-on-one witnessing with the goal of establishing house churches on this island.
As I prepare to leave, I ask that you pray! Pray for safe flights. Pray for my team to be unified in Christ. Pray that I will open my eyes to the divine appointments Christ has for me in the Philippines and on the flights there, as well. Pray for people’s hearts to be receptive to the gospel. Pray for my health. Pray that God’s words will fill our hearts and our mouths. Pray for every aspect of this 60 day mission. Pray for strength on the days I am running low. Pray for my family back home (especially mom, dad, and Sam). Most of all, pray for souls to come to know a personal RELATIONSHIP with Christ and for Him to receive ALL the glory!
I do ask that you guys shower my family with extra love for these next few months! I know that they are very nervous about my safety and health. Call my mom for me (since usually I call her everyday). Give mom, dad, and especially Sam lots of hugs and kisses…ok maybe just hugs from you guys J Please please please let them know that they are in your prayers. Encourage them daily! I will return July 30th and take on my daughterly roles again…until then..You guys are responsible J
As I am typing this blog, this Point of Grace song just came on and spoke to me! This is what I pray my life will proclaim to every person I come in contact with, whether on the airplane, in the airport, or in the Philippines!
I am sitting here in the comfort of my air conditioned home on my comfy couch with the TV playing in front of me (enjoying it while I can). To be honest, it really has not hit me yet that I am going to be out of the States for 2 months. Packing has been a little bit of an ordeal considering that I have to pack in a backpacking pack for 60 days! For those of you who know me and my packing tendencies….I go overboard. However, I am forced to just pack in this backpack and a smaller carry on, considering I will be hiking with all this stuff. I am choosing only the necessities.
Currently, I am filled with emotions. I am anxious to finally get there and really excited. I have been preparing and talking about this trip for at least 6 months and it is hard to believe that it is happening tomorrow! My only fear is that I will have trouble hiking with all my stuff (small compared to what your fears are for me huh J…or at least my parents anyway). I am actually meeting up with one of my team members in Dallas and we have all the same flights. Therefore, I am not the nervous about the flights anymore. My flight leaves at 10:50am in Birmingham. I fly from Birmingham to Dallas, Dallas to LA, LA to Hong Kong, and Hong Kong to Manila (the capitol of the Philippines). The Philippines is approx. 1 day ahead of us, therefore I will arrive to Manila on June 4, 2009.
I will be in Manila for a few days of orientation and training. Then, my team and I will fly to an island and then boat to the Siquijor Island, which is where my team will be stationed all summer. Then we will begin ministering to the people of this island. This island is known to be controlled by Satan through witchcraft. We will be God’s tools in setting people free through the power of the Gospel. We will be witnessing through drama, sports, and one-on-one witnessing with the goal of establishing house churches on this island.
As I prepare to leave, I ask that you pray! Pray for safe flights. Pray for my team to be unified in Christ. Pray that I will open my eyes to the divine appointments Christ has for me in the Philippines and on the flights there, as well. Pray for people’s hearts to be receptive to the gospel. Pray for my health. Pray that God’s words will fill our hearts and our mouths. Pray for every aspect of this 60 day mission. Pray for strength on the days I am running low. Pray for my family back home (especially mom, dad, and Sam). Most of all, pray for souls to come to know a personal RELATIONSHIP with Christ and for Him to receive ALL the glory!
I do ask that you guys shower my family with extra love for these next few months! I know that they are very nervous about my safety and health. Call my mom for me (since usually I call her everyday). Give mom, dad, and especially Sam lots of hugs and kisses…ok maybe just hugs from you guys J Please please please let them know that they are in your prayers. Encourage them daily! I will return July 30th and take on my daughterly roles again…until then..You guys are responsible J
As I am typing this blog, this Point of Grace song just came on and spoke to me! This is what I pray my life will proclaim to every person I come in contact with, whether on the airplane, in the airport, or in the Philippines!
All my life you have been with me
How could I pretend not to see
I was walking on the line
I was wasting precious time
All I know is that you love me
If I call you will set me free
It's a promise that you made
It's the truth that will not change
Please help me to remember
My God has never let me down
My God has turned my world around
He loves me even though
I Know I don't deserve him
My God has never turned away
He's with me every single day
He's broken all the chains and set this captive free
Seems to you all your hope is gone
Never found a love that strong
It's a chance you have to take
A choice you've got to makeI hope that you' remember
Will never let you down
My God can turn your world around
He loves us even though
I Know we don't deserve him
My God will never turn away
He's with me every single day
He's broken all the chains and set this captive free
Quick story: God is already using this trip to help other know about Him. Today I was grabbing lunch and had on my school of Christian studies shirt from UM and this lady asked about me going to a Christian college. This, so easily ,led into a discussion about what I was doing this summer. I was able to share with her. She could not believe that someone would sacrifice their whole summer to do this and to live out of a backpack. To me, it is obvious! I am called to make sure that every person has heard the gospel…that is what I am doing! She wants me to come back and talk to her when I come home. Pray that one day she will understand what it is like to have a burning desire to spread the Word of the Lord! Her name is Amanda. Keep Amanda in your prayers. Pray I will have an opportunity to talk with her about the Lord again. Also, she gave me a free piece of cake since I may not have good food for a while she said J God is already working and I am so excited! To Him be all the glory!
**Thank you so much for the prayers and for reading how God is working in my life! I will send weekly or bi-weekly updates on how God is working through His tools in the Philippines! Love you all and God bless!! My mom will be sending out updates to all of you. You can send her e-mails you want to go to me and she can compile them and send them my way! Thank you again! You are such a blessing!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
.JPG)